The beer pours like thick motor oil, deep black in color, hues of cola brown with a thick khaki head that sticks around for a brief moment and leaves no lace or film behind. The aroma is of wonderful barrel presence, soft and subtle bourbon, chocolate, rich, sweet grain, soft char and some potent astringency from the alcohol. The flavors are superb, lots of soft bitter chocolate, bourbon, charred oak and vanilla, nice marshmallow hints with dark grain and dark pitted stone fruit at the finish. The body is remarkably smooth, rich and coats the mouth well. It finishes with a lovely creamy touch and a nice warming sensation as it goes down.

Verdict: A really spectacular take on Dark Lord. This beer is sweet, very sweet but still remarkably balanced and extremely complex. This was by far my favorite Dark Lord variant of the 2012 or 2013 sets and one of the more exemplary takes on the barrel aged stouts.

At a tasting hosted by Mulder1010 who kindly provided this I was totally unaware of what this beer was in my glass. Not wearing my glasses, and evening room light, meant it was a blind taste.

However, quite simply one of the most flavoursome and complex beers (the barrel effect was amazing) it has been my pleasure to drink. I did guess it had to be highly rated, and thought 'Top 10' but I was not quite expecting it to be where it was tho, on the 'other' beer site...